Sunday, February 26, 2012

[I know from the traffic counts that some people have been stopping by In-Between Hops now and then only to find the same post I wrote at the beginning of January. I am recovering from a severely broken thumb which has taken me from being a mediocre, hunt-and-peck typist to... Let's just say this - it took my about 5 minutes to type and correct this paragraph there. So pardon the typos if I miss a couple.]

I don't believe there's a single angle on the Ryan Braun story that hasn't been written about 10,000 times by now. But there's one part of the story that I find particularly compelling that is getting far less play than I think it should.

Supposedly, at some point during the appeal process, Ryan Braun offered to take a DNA test to determine whether the sample that tested positive was actually his and Major League Baseball refused the offer. What!?! That to me is by far the biggest part of this story. In making this offer, Braun is claiming that the sample in question is not actually from him. If he's right, that would be HUGE.

If the sample was not in fact from Braun, his involvement in this story is over. All of the people saying that he got off on a technicality will have been barking up the wrong tree. Major League Baseball would have a huge black eye and every player who has ever been suspended up until now would have a legal case on their hands. If the collectors can't even be trusted to put the right name on the right bottle then the whole testing process is a complete joke.

If Ryan Braun believes what he is telling all of us, I think he should sue Major League Baseball, subpoena the sample and have the test done. And if he's right, I'd think his name will be cleared for good.

I know that it's easiest to believe what you want to believe. As a fan of Ryan Braun, I want to believe that he is innocent. But even looking at this case as objectively as I possibly can, it seems like Ryan Braun is the one who is being honest and forthright, and Major League Baseball is the party acting like they have something to hide.